The Funny Thing about Love
by MidnightBebe104
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki never quite expected the sudden affection of a certain brunette to turn his world so upside down. Yaoi, Seme!Ichigo, AU, Slight OOC, Swearing, High School Fic.


I no own ze bleach.

AN: This story will be working with Young Byakuya. _YOUNG._ In other words, refer back to episode 208 and*Insert fan-girl squeal here* ;]

* * *

Chapter One

His compacted steps carried him unhurriedly across the soaked footpath. The water-laden granite squelched beneath his grimy sneakers with each step, the sound cloaked only by the downpour of rain canopying the city.

Ichigo Kurosaki gnawed at his inner gums as he shuffled his way past the few people leisurely making their way across the sidewalk, his head brimming with inner bitter musings on the job loss his short fuse had yet again managed to cause him.

Hands still crammed inside his pant pockets, he coiled them tightly, recalling the earlier day's events in which an exceptionally crabby customer had almost succeeded in having the red-head's foot halfway down his throat, following his outrageous demand to discharge his prior billing on account of the stain that had 'miraculously' appeared on his back seat –that of which was apparently not there before the 'supposed' wash- that he came to take notice of shortly after arriving home with his newly washed vehicle. As such the man had refused to pay for the service provided, further going into a verbal assaulting rampage on Ichigo's character and work ethic.

Ichigo had at first blown the man off in his entirety, as it was often they received customers with bullshit allegations and false accusations pertaining to the staff and/or any issues they could fabricate in order to steer clear of the required bill. But as the unrighteous and invalid defamation of his character reached pinnacle degrees, he was unable to contain himself from spilling his mind to the self-righteous bastard.

Though he had, fortunately, managed to refrain from fully maiming the living hell out of the ghastly man, the profane words used by him in reproach were enough to have him tossed out on his behind and once more jobless on the street – but of course, not before having to sit through the half-assed lecture on how the customer was always right.

_'Bullshit_,' he thought bitterly.

Four jobs down the gutter and he had begun to think this job crap wasn't for him. Unfortunately for him, though, he knew he had no other choice. He was not working only for himself; there were others dependant on him, flaking was out of the question.

He stopped momentarily to stare over at the approaching building, cursing lowly under his breath and dreading the bad news he'd have to break to his mother upon arrival. What would she say this time? He wondered. Every excuse in the book had been overused by him in his efforts at explaining his often occurring terminations – none of which were ever through fault of his own, as he refused to admit such a thing to her.

Running his hand through his soaked russet hair now slicked to his head and nape, Ichigo scrambled over whether to enter his home or remain outside in the rain. The latter seemed much more pleasant and so he walked past the abode and continued on an aimless route beneath the rain, which he was now finding strangely relaxing.

With the lack of anything even remotely interesting to stare at, his eyes drifted over to the water gliding down the street's ledge. A single leaf carried by the small current and the faint breeze floated atop it. He wondered how it would feel to be as carefree as the small fleeting leaflet.

What was it like living a regular teenage life? He'd forgotten.

After his father's abandonment, Ichigo's only option had been to bitterly resign to the fact that life as he knew it was long gone. With his mother's peaking pregnancy and her release from work, he soon had to take charge as head of the household in order to sustain both them, his younger sister and the one soon approaching. Even now the measly income that was coming in was not nearly enough to what was needed sustain all of them or guarantee their humble living quarters. The thought of dropping out of high school in search of full-time employment crossed his mind a multitude of times but his mother's lectures on the importance of a proper education prevented him from doing so. As such his time had been divided between school, the night jobs he was able to garner that often consisted of janitorial duties at the nearby university, and the weekend car wash job that he had now been booted from.

'_What load of crap.' _

It was at around the sixth block during his aimless trot that his attention perked to something besides the water flowing down the street and through the sewer drain's apertures, when a faint cry echoed -the sound closely resembling that of an injured and distressed feline- from out to his side.

His head flung in its direction, falling on the small alleyway running down the side of two paralleled buildings. A large garbage container stood blocking off most of its entrance. Standing still, his ears strained for the previous sound, hearing nothing. He briefly wondered if he'd imagined it, but as another cry rung, this time much more distraught than the last and now eliminating the far-fetched thought that it had belonged to some sort of animal, he was convinced his head was not playing tricks on him.

His legs unconsciously carried him over to the large metal garbage container propped before the alley's entrance, now certain that the sound had stretched out from its far end.

Pressing his body against the side of the concrete building, finding that there was no possible way for him to enter directly straightforward as the length of his shoulders outmatched that of the small opening provided, he slid through steadily, the hard granite wall pressed against his backside scraping at it subtly, before he finally made it past.

Quickly upon entrance, his eyes caught onto where exactly the cry had erupted from.

A thin body was sprawled out on the ground, sleek black hair unfurled messily on the dirt and across the person's face like a murky puddle of tar.

"Shit…" he mumbled silently beneath his breath in shock.

"I get ta have a go at it first, ya hear," said a gruff voice, deep and coarse, belonging to a bald man whose broad frame fully outmatched that of the toppled body on the ground, and the thinner individual beside him.

'…_stay out of it…' _he urged himself, his hands clamping behind him on the flat wall. It would take an absolute moron to not catch onto what was happening before him. He found himself wishing he _was_ that mindless moron.

The two men towered over the body in obvious menace. One of them, he could make out, had begun unbuckling a belt holding onto the jeans hugging his large thighs.

It only took his mind a fraction of a second to register what was happening before his legs were plummeting gravely on the muddy dirt, breaking into a brisk dash and leaping towards the closest body to his immediate reach, one question fleeting his mind as he did so, '_What the hell am I doing?_', but failing to discourage his chosen course of action.

"Get the hell away from her!" he yelled thoughtlessly, dispelling the perfectly useful element of surprise he so often found himself abiding by.

The larger man, who was now gripping onto the metal-buckled belt he'd just removed from his jeans, had a second long glimpse of the orange-haired male closely resembling an angry leopard pouncing viciously onto its unfortunate prey, before his face was met with the boy's tightly coiled knuckles with perfect precision.

The impact sent the man tumbling backwards falling sharply on his hind side and dragging Ichigo with him, whose force had made him the perfect example of inertia gone wrong, as he fell flatly atop the man.

Allowing no time for thought or contemplation of his current position, the teen delivered few well-honed blows to the man's face who was still too dazed in shock at the sudden attack to provide any retaliating action, before a pair of hands wrapped around his forearms, pulling him back forcefully and slamming him face-first into the ground.

A groan made a miserable attempt at escaping him before it was disturbed by the blood-soiled spit dripping from his bruised lips.

"Fucking runt!" he heard, as a sharp kick was delivered to his ribs and an array of colors crossed his vision. He felt his ribs crackle like brittle cement, the new rugged pain leaving him briefly paralyzed.

"Aghh!" Refusing to allow another blinding blow, Ichigo rolled over on his back, biting back the jabbing pricks that spread from his nape to his lower back, as he wheeled his face to come in direct contact with the foot now rebounding towards him.

He managed to clutch the foot by the ankles while it was still few centimeters from thrusting into his aching mid-section, his vision blurred drastically by the rain falling down on him. His fingers clawed into the flesh, having little other option as he lay helpless beneath the large man hovering over him, with ill-intent glazing the coal orbs. The small restraint, much to his expectance, was not enough to even nearly immobilize the man who bent forward over him and struck his fist against the bridge of his nose.

He felt the veins in his face pulsate wildly with the pain now searing his skull. A warm liquid oozed from his nose reached his lips, its copper taste overwhelming every one of his taste buds.

Through his blurred and obscuring vision, he caught a glimpse of the man sneering over him. He looked to be in his early twenty's, not as old as the jabs provided would indicate, with a head full of messy brown hair reaching just past his chin, and a scruffy batted goatee. "Wanna play hero you little fuck?" he sputtered grossly, a smirk contorting his already disfigured-looking face. Another jab had Ichigo's face lolling to the side just in time to catch his previous target lifting himself off of the ground.

"What the fuck just happened?" the man groaned in confusion, while palming his aching head.

Ichigo felt his heart teeter in his throat, the adrenaline rousing higher than previously and running rabid through his bloodstream at the thought that more likely than not, this would be his funeral.

'_What the hell did I get myself into_?' he thought in uncloaked panic.

From his peripheral vision he caught onto the thin body of the previously assailed girl trying to unsuccessfully rise from the ground. '_What the fuck are you doing?!'_

"I'm still here ya bitch!"

His vision shot up, as the man lingering above him smashed his bent forearm into his chin. Ichigo gargled in his own anguished moans, flinging his arm out in front of him, and using his elbow to drive the pre-used arm away from his face. His other hand flew towards the man's face, fingers clawing viciously into the assailant's eyes and hearing a satisfying frenzy of angry cries and wordless obscenities that consisted of half-grunts and half- incoherent babbles puttered by the man whose body wriggled erratically trying to pull free from the hatchet like fingers. Ichigo took the time to ram his knee up towards the man's groin, realizing just how the position he was pinned in could be used to his advantage.

Relief washed over him when the man gasped in pain and fell back on his rump, groaning and practically hugging at his knees from the affliction to his now withering crotch.

Pressing his palms against the wet dirt, he coughed furiously, his free hand clasping his face as though his head would shortly unhinge from his torso. The few droplets of blood that dripped from his face dissolved into the puddles of water covering much of the ground.

"S- tay…down…" he strained to say, the words broken as he eyed the girl foolishly bending over on the ground.

"You fucking shit!"

The man, now fully standing, growled as he eyed the crimson liquid sliding down his chin.

Ichigo's eyes however refused budge from straining individual's form on the ground, cursing beneath his breath as he watched her continue to rise, unaware of just how stupid of an act she was engaging in, and fully noting the trouble she'd be in if the man's attention once more landed on her.

"H-hey prick…" he groaned weakly as he lifted himself off of the ground. After regaining his footing, which was admittedly a bit wobbly, he smacked the backside of his hand across his mouth, wiping away the mixture of grime and blood. "Is this the only way you can get laid you sick bastard?"

He smirked cunningly when the man's eyes locked with his own.

With his index finger, he challengingly motioned him over, the action containing more bark than bite as he knew he was fully drained.

"I'm gonna teach ya to keep yer nose outta shit that don't concern you boy." the burly man spat angrily, face livid, before he launched forward unprecedentedly.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and with what little strength he did have, bolted towards the approaching menace, his eyes unwillingly clamping shut, awaiting collision.

"AH!" a deep pained howl was the only thing he heard before a resounding thud echoed in the small alleyway.

Ichigo unscrewed his eyes open, staggering to a halt, and mouth parted open as he took in the image of the previously catapulting man, now keeled over on the ground.

The girl's slender body stood hunched over facing downward, her off-white shirt tattered from what was obviously a forced attempt at disrobing her. The quivering arms clutched onto a large rock now dripping a dark scarlet substance that according to the toppled body sprawled on the ground, had been used to knock the assailant out cold.

Audible rasping gasps for air could be made out from her.

Ichigo felt too dumbstruck to utter a single word, but that did not stop the cloud of relief to once more settle over his gut.

"S-shit…" He heard someone stutter and wheeled his head around to catch onto the second man still clutching at his groin shakily rise from his previous fetal position before limping hurriedly towards the alley's entrance and leaving his comatose buddy high and dry.

Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle, though it did him more ill than good as he was made to grip his heavily throbbing ribs.

As the pain from his mid-section subsided temporarily, he turned to face upwards. "Are you alright?" he asked at the person finally staring back at him in utmost bewilderment, clearly shaken up - though he wondered who wouldn't be such a situation.

His eyes widened when he realized what he thought to be a girl, was actually a guy no older than he was.

The hair now messily framing his face allowed for proper view of it; and though it retained some obvious feministic qualities, it undoubtedly belonged to that of a guy. His sharp familiar jaw enclosed thin long lips quivering just as fiercely as the rest of his body. His eyes were much too lidded to make out much of them, but it was unnecessary.

Ichigo gasped audibly, recognition spreading across his face. He knew this boy, hell, he couldn't be mistaken.

"Byakuya?" he questioned in obvious drawback, confusion clouding his gaze.

The silence thickened.

"Hey," Ichigo called, taking a shaky step towards him and pausing when noticing the male take a cautious step back. "It's alright." He brought both hands before him defenselessly. His head brimming with questions as to what someone like him could be doing around these parts and just how he'd managed to get pulled into such an unfortunate scenario.

Ichigo was unable to take another step in approach as before he was able to do so, the rock that had been tightly twined in Byakuya's hands was tossed to the side frightfully, before he began to scramble backwards and with not as much as a final glance, fled with tumbling steps out of the alley.

Ichigo's eyebrows arched beyond measurement. "The hell…?"

He flinched when an electric-like shard spread through his head and across his back and leant his elbow against the brick wall. "Gnnn…great way to end the weekend…"

* * *

"Agh shit! Ma!" he cried in anguish as the alcohol pad was pressed against his bruised face.

His mother stared down worriedly at him, continuing to, regardless of the cries begging for her letup, dab Ichigo's face with the burning liquid.

"I just don't understand how a simple fall could've done this to you." she said as she tucked her light brown hair behind her ears to better examine the wounds shrouding most of her son's face and torso.

"Fell? On what, a bed of needles? His sister, Karin, muttered from beside her. His glare caused her vision to cast downwards sheepishly before mumbling, "Sorry…"

The only excuse his brain had managed to make up was that he'd had an unfortunate collapse down the building's entrance stairs. He felt it was unnecessary to worry her about his careless action, though at the moment there wasn't much else he could've done.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take you to the hospital? Maybe you've broken something?"

Ichigo sighed. The only thing broken was his spirit. After this small occurrence how in the hell could he tell her of his recent job loss?

He decided to push that small detail to the side for now.

"Look Ma, I'm fine alright?" he reassured her as he stood from the couch, pulling away from her touch. He tried to hold back the wince threatening to surface at the pang spreading across his ribs as he rose. "I'm gonna go to bed."

A trail of water still lined the hardwood floors from when he'd first arrived home. His denim jeans continuing to drip as he pulled his wet grey t-shirt away from his mother's lap and tossed it atop his shoulder.

"Guess you don't believe in umbrellas Ichi-ni," Karin commented jokingly, eyeing the puddle of water circling beneath his feet.

Ichigo chuckled dryly before beginning to make his way over towards his room. "Guess not."

"By the way sweetie, I thought you'd be home later. Did Oneida dismiss you early?" his mother called after him.

Ichigo brought his hand behind his neck, scratching sheepishly at his nape. "Uh…yeah, closed down early today, not many customers." He concluded mildly before disappearing behind his bedroom door.

He tossed himself onto his bed, dropping his arm across his eyes and inhaling deeply, feeling the pin-pricks once more feel inclined to attack his sides.

"Bastard did a job on me…" he murmured lowly to himself.

His hand began running up and down his waist.

He wondered briefly if Byakuya had made it home safely. Somehow the boy's overly distraught form made it difficult for Ichigo to feel convinced of his current well being, though it had been understandable.

He groaned, turning himself sideways and digging his face inside the lush pillow beneath his head.

His image, it was as though he were a different guy.

Byakuya Kuchiki often seemed to bear a sort of untouchable air about him, such that not often was he surrounded by the other students. Perhaps it was intimidation-driven because of his wealth or enviable intelligence or perhaps it was his usually detached manner that kept others at bay, be it what it may the boy he saw today was not nearly a speck of the usual awe-inducing male his classmates would gawk at endlessly.

Something like the misfortunate event that went down earlier in the day, was unfortunately something that he easily acknowledged could have happened to anyone. He however, couldn't help the recurring question resurfacing his mind over what on earth someone like the Kuchiki male, son of the superintendent for the Karakura district, could have been doing lurking around such a shady area. Even he, who had grown up around the dangerous outskirts of Karakura town was always cautious. The streets were usually emptier around these parts, mostly due to the lack of commercial establishments. The area was mostly jammed with gritty residential apartments housing lower-income families, and the few seven-eleven's that stood around every few blocks. Criminal activity had been on a steady increase as of late, for this reason many of the inhabitants of the area would remain inside their homes unless required otherwise.

Ichigo sighed loudly, as he adjusted himself comfortably in his bed and pulled the thin blanket over his head.

No point in dwelling on things. Both were okay. And he was sure come Monday it'd all be forgotten.

As a final image of the Kuchiki male flashed past his vision, Ichigo slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Ya expect me to believe a flight of stairs got you this banged up?" a blue-haired male asked incredulously as he eyed Ichigo unconvinced.

Ichigo and the male made their way towards the lunchroom cafeteria, as the individual continued to endlessly pry at the previous day's occurrence that had left him so darn right battered.

"I don't expect you to believe anything." Ichigo sighed listlessly. Having to explain things to his thick- headed partner was too much of a hassle. He felt it was better for both he and the rest of the Karakura population he hide the insignificant incident from him.

The last time he was injured with a black eye which had been caused by an innocent senile who had accidently whacked him with her cane as he bent down beside her to grab a can of tuna from a shelf beside her at the local supermarket, his boyfriend had –upon discovery- gone out on an all out rampage in search of the 'old hag' –as he had put it- who'd dared injure him, in hopes of sending her to an early grave.

"What the hell's that supposed ta mean?" the male questioned heatedly at the remark, gripping Ichigo by the arm and tugging him backwards.

Ichigo heaved a heavy breath while providing few shakes to his head. "Nothing, alrig—"

"Oy Grimmjow!"

Ichigo turned towards the loud calling coming from the cafeteria's main entrance, where Renji, a tattooed male with bright burgundy colored tresses eyed back at the blue-headed teen in panic.

"They're running out!"

"EH?!" The bulky teen barked loudly, the deep aqua eyes wide in shock. Flinging Ichigo's arm forward forcefully, he dragged him alongside him as he broke into a speedy dash across the hall and into the lunchroom.

"Ah!" Ichigo wailed at having his arm almost pulled loose from its socket.

Grimmjow shuffled both of them through the horde of students forming a small circle around the school's snack shop, coming to a staggering halt just before a large display.

"What type of bullshit is this?" Grimmjow steamed at seeing the display usually jammed with his favorite treat now fully empty. "Where the fuck are my pudding cups?!"

Ichigo sighed, smacking his palm against his forehead.

"It was _you_ wasn't it!" He swiveled to point menacingly at a girl with glasses holding onto a small cup of the chocolate dessert.

The girl smirked almost challengingly as she pushed her glasses up from the tip of her nose and readjusted them to her face.

"The last pudding cup was mine!"

"You don't say?" she mocked in obvious amusement.

Clutching at his neck, Ichigo stared on, uninterestedly, at the now daily occurrence.

"Look you little bitch, unless you want this pretty foot of mine shoved up your as- "

"Aha! Calm it there buddy," Renji intruded, placing a hand onto the steaming bluenette's shoulder and attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to drag him out.

"Fuck no! The bitch's testing me! This is the _third_ fucking time!"

"Babe…" Ichigo murmured lowly and embarrassedly. "You don't own the pudding cups."

"Says the hell who?!"

A plump lady, with dark brown ringlets smacked a large metal spoon against the display's glass. "Hey! First-come basis!" she said angrily, tired of the daily bickering. "Want it? Get here earlier!"

Grimmjow growled bitterly, snatching his shoulder away from the red-head.

"Whatever…" he murmured silently in defeat, the menacing glare never failing to leave his face.

Snaking his arm around Ichigo's midsection, he tugged the male forward, now pushing past the other students who had begun clearing the blue demon's path.

"Babe, I don't give a flying fuck if you have to cut English tomorrow, we're getting those fucking pudding cups."

Ichigo cocked his brow before being unable to resist a small smile from tilting his lips. "You know, sometimes I think you'd leave me high and dry for a cup of pudding."

"Don't sell yourself short babe…two cups…tops."

Ichigo rammed his elbow into his partner's gut at the statement.

"Ack fuck! I'm only messing with ya!"

Ichigo smirked, slithering his own arm around Grimmjow's waist and bringing his lips to smack against the other boy's.

Their relationship had always been unusually public, mostly because neither of the boys gave much of a rat's ass over who knew of it or what they may have had to say on the matter – though none ever did, considering the fear they felt towards the blue-headed individual fully outmatched any critique they may have held on the matter.

"Ya know," Grimmjow said as both pulled free from the short kiss, his lips curling into a fiendish grin. "If I didn't like ya so much, I'd never forgive that."

"Hn?" Ichigo hummed innocently, before once more pulling the male in for a kiss, and chuckling into it when he felt two fingers begin to poke at his waist. Ichigo wriggled his body, trying to shimmy away from bluenette who now had him clutched tightly against him. "A-aha—a! c-cut it out!" he laughed into the other's mouth before finally succeeding in pulling free, gripping his shuddering midsection. "Ass."

"The 'ass' you love." Grimmjow remarked victoriously, providing a quick flick of his tongue.

"I'm beginning to wonder…" Ichigo murmured jestingly, and grinned at the expression that crossed his partner's face. "Win?"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah it i—"

Ichigo froze mid sentence, when his eyes fell on something behind his boyfriend's form.

He now noticed Byakuya Kuchiki sitting back alone on one of the various tables lining the inside of the cafeteria, his undisguised stare fully fixed on him. The previously tousled hair was now neatly pulled back in a ponytail, with thin bangs framing his delicate-like face.

Both eyes locked for a few seconds, light sienna orbs and slate grey eyes, before a hand waved loosely across Ichigo's line of sight.

"What're ya staring at?" Grimmjow questioned, flipping his body in the direction of his partner's glance and landing perfectly onto the long-haired brunette whose eyes were clearly glued onto his boyfriend with the same placid expression that usually cloaked his features. "Hell's the cocky brat lookin' at?"

Ichigo snapped out of it, shaking his head roughly. He stared over to his partner who was now eyeing him questioningly.

"Ya friend's with him or somethin'?"

Ichigo sent one final glance at the male seated at the far end of the cafeteria before grabbing onto Grimmjow's hand and pulling him in the opposite direction.

"Not really."


End file.
